After giving Apple a low e-waste score earlier this month, Greepeace on Thursday night targeted Apple’s posh Fifth Avenue Store for a demonstration. More than sixty Greenpeace activists shone green lights from high-powered floodlights on the glass-encased entrance of the store.
“For a company that has long been hailed as a leader in innovation, Apple is falling behind the curve in addressing the growing problem of e-waste,” said Rick Hind, Legislative Director of Greenpeace USA’s Toxics campaign. “We are not only shining the light on the issue, but also on Apple’s unwillingness to be an industry leader on environmental progress.”
According to the new report ranking the 14 top manufacturers of personal computers and cell phones, Apple finished last with a score of 2.7 out of 10. Most companies, according to Greenpeace, now score above average points on the ranking guide, with only five companies failing to score even the average of five points.
However, Apple has made important environmental decisions in the past few years. In addition to the computer take-back program started earlier this year, Apple was one of the first companies to eliminate CRT monitors from its product lines. According to the company, using flat-panel displays eliminate more than two pounds of lead, consume up to 80 percent less energy in sleep mode and weigh half as much as their CRT counterparts.
Apple was also named a “Forward Green Leader,” one of the top ten environmentally progressive companies recognized by the Sierra Club in 2006.
“Apple has a strong environmental track record and has led the industry in restricting and banning toxic substances such as mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, as well as many brominated flame retardants,” Apple representative Steve Dowling, told Macworld.
Apple’s Environmental Web site contains more information on its commitments, including a timeline on what it’s done for the past 16 years.